Wider reach
Perfect picture: Studios
and support for artists
Rolling river: culture
and housing along
the riverside
Top town: the
transformation of
Barkingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centre

Barking and
Dagenham

ISSUE 6 SPRING 2016

Issue 6
Spring 2016
boldmagazine.co.uk

Creating for
the future
One of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading developers is investing
for the long term in Barking and Dagenham.
Look out for exciting new places and high-quality
homes for everyone to enjoy.

Shakespeare plays and a
growing cultural quarter
– the borough is working
hard to attract London’s
artists and designers

36 GROWTH COMMISSION

Decision-makers driving
Barking and Dagenham’s
regeneration discuss the
developments and the
thinking behind the
21 TOWN CENTRE
soon to be published
Benefits to being in Barking
Growth Commission report
town centre are many
and developments taking
shape are enabling the
44 MARKETS
transformation to continue Facts and figures

27

summarise the
achievements of this
east London borough
46 EDUCATION
The council is addressing
the challenges of the
primary schools’ expansion
programme head on

50

54 SITEMATCH
An area rich in history
and diversity, Barking is
becoming an increasingly
popular destination for
those seeking London’s
next opportunity area

3

Countryside is proud to be
supporting barking and
dagenham CounCil at mipim 2016
left and right: Cgis of new homes and train station at beam park.
We are delighted to have been chosen, together with l&Q, to build up
to 3,000 homes, a new railway station on the C2C line, a primary school,
swimming pool and other community facilities on the 71.7 acre site.

Countryside works in partnership with public and private
sector organisations to regenerate housing estates and
to secure the provision of high quality mixed-use and
mixed-tenure schemes.
our projects are developed with local authorities,
housing associations and local communities and we
regard partnering as key to delivering this. We have
undertaken more than 45 estate regeneration schemes
since the 1980s and we have been building new homes
in london and the south east since 1958.

Cgi of new homes and pharmacy at becontree heath, to be delivered by november 2019.

For further information please visit:
www.countryside-properties.com

BOLD News

NEWS
Mayor selects Beam
Park developers
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has selected Countryside
and London and Quadrant (L&Q) Housing Trust to redevelop
Beam Park – the site of a former and now derelict Ford
factory plant in Dagenham.
The 29-ha scheme will see 3,000 homes, a new train
station on the C2C line and community facilities developed.
The Greater London Authority said the homes will be
mixed tenure, with over 35% allocated as affordable and a
significant proportion available for shared ownership.
Johnson said: “This impressive site hid one of the biggest
secrets ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, when
it was used for opening ceremony rehearsals, and it is now
set to be transformed into a thriving new neighbourhood.”
Countryside and L&Q were selected from a shortlist of
four options, as part of the London Development Panel
procurement process, which was set up by the mayor to
accelerate the delivery of housing in London.
The new train station will be open by 2020 and will enable
people to reach central London in 20 minutes. Improved
routes for pedestrians and cyclists will also be developed.
Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Councillor
Darren Rodwell, said: “Barking and Dagenham, as
London’s growth opportunity, has a crucial role to play in
meeting London’s increasing housing and infrastructure
needs. Beam Park is one of seven growth hubs in our
borough, which will deliver 35,000 homes and 10,000 jobs.
“This scheme will provide much needed regeneration
and investment to south Dagenham, creating a vibrant and
exciting new neighbourhood.”

REACHING HIGH
AT GOLF KINGDOM
A freefall and hand gliding facility –
the Walltopia Rollglider – has been
proposed as an exciting addition to
the Golf Kingdom leisure attraction
in Barking and Dagenham, which it
is hoped will arrive in time for the
school summer holidays.
The Rollglider is a cross between
a rollercoaster and a zip wire
and is in its design phase, with a
planning application scheduled for
submission imminently.
It includes both outdoor and
indoor lines, which will see people
suspended from harnesses. The
attraction is being marketed as
“offering high levels of adrenaline
in a safe environment”.
Plans for the new attraction
have been drawn up since Golf
Kingdom managing director
Kate Cooper was appointed
around six months ago. Other
facilities at the attraction include
adventure golf and foot golf, which
combines football with the sport –
participants use their feet instead
of a club to guide a ball into a hole.

5

BOLD News

Historic pub
declared a
community asset
A Dagenham pub where rock bands
Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The
Velvet Underground once played
has been classified as a
‘community asset’ by Barking
and Dagenham Council.
The Roundhouse is located
on Lodge Avenue. Its new status
means the owners will have to
notify the council before selling up
– local community groups will then
be able to make an offer.
The decision by the council was
in response to an application for
the community’s right to bid for an
asset of community value. It was
nominated by the South West Essex
branch of CAMRA – (Campaign for
Real Ale).

THOUSANDS OF JOBS AT
EAST PLUS SCHEME
Real estate investment trust Segro
has announced its East Plus scheme
in London Riverside has the potential
to create 6,500 jobs.
The project will support around
426,720sq m of urban logistics and
light industrial space, suitable for
occupiers ranging from blue-chip
companies to startup firms.
Building work on the first phase
will begin in late 2016. The project will
be delivered in partnership with the
Greater London Authority (GLA) and
is the largest deal of its kind between
the public sector and a private land
developer in the capital.
Segro, chosen by the GLA after
a nine-month selection process,
will carry out the redevelopment of
five industrial locations spanning
Newham, Barking and Dagenham and
Havering over a 10-year period.

6

The land will be transferred by
the GLA in stages over the life of the
partnership. The plans mean that
99% of all GLA land has now been
released for development.
Segro’s investment is expected to
be around £180 million over the
coming years.
Knight Frank, Glenny and Lambert
Smith Hampton have been appointed
as the agents for the development.
The mayor of London, Boris
Johnson, announced the plans at the
beginning of October 2015. He said:
"London's population is at a record
high and people are increasingly
looking to the east as a place to live
and work.
"This site has bags of potential and
I can see it becoming one of the most
sought after addresses for industry
– whether large or small."

Bungalows
for elderly
and disabled
Barking and Dagenham Council
was due to finish work on 29
bungalows for elderly and disabled
residents by the end of February.
As well as the benefits of
assisted living provided at the
bungalows, the local authority said
that people moving into specialist
units will free up council homes for
those on the waiting list.
In 2015, 37 such bungalows were
opened in the borough, which made
56 bedrooms available. The next
29 homes will free up 45 bedrooms.
Deputy leader and cabinet
member for housing, Councillor
Saima Ashraf, said: “We are
building high-quality council
homes to meet the needs of our
residents – these bungalows are
an important part of that mix.”

BOLD News

Cambridge Road
homes approved
Swan Housing Group has received
planning permission to deliver 274
homes in four interlinked residential
towers of up to 26 storeys.
The project, on a Cambridge Road
site that has been vacant since 2004,
is part of the wider regeneration of
Barking town centre.
It was designed by architects
Studio Egret West and will be built
by NU living, Swan’s construction
business. The curved buildings will
be close to Barking station.
Barking and Dagenham’s
Development Control Board granted
permission for the project, which is
now subject to a stage two referral
from the mayor of London.
Located within the Barking
housing zone area, funding is
expected from the mayor of London’s
office for the project. Shared
ownership will be available for 49 of
the properties. Priority for these will

be given to the residents of Barking
and Dagenham.
Geoff Pearce, Swan’s executive
director of development and
regeneration, said: “This landmark
scheme will bring a long-vacant site
back into use while delivering highquality architecture.
“We are looking forward to working
with our partners to contribute to the
exciting regeneration happening in
Barking and Dagenham.”
Swan worked in partnership with
planning consultancy Iceni Projects
on the plans, which received almost
unanimous support at the planning
committee and additional support
from the Greater London Authority.
Councillor Cameron Geddes,
cabinet member for regeneration,
said: “This is one of the cornerstones
of our housing zone scheme and
will help boost the supply of quality
homes in the town.”

Becontree Heath
development
partner selected
Countryside and Newlon Housing
Trust have been chosen by Barking
and Dagenham Council to deliver
a residential-led development in
Becontree Heath.
Proposals for the scheme are for
six parcels of land between Barking
and Dagenham Civic Centre and the
Becontree Heath Leisure Centre.
The project includes 141 homes,
public realm improvements, a
pharmacy and a bus station.
Barking and Dagenham’s cabinet
member for regeneration, Councillor
Cameron Geddes, said: “The selection
of Countryside and Newlon Housing
Trust as our preferred bidder is
an important step towards the
regeneration of the estate and the
council’s commitment to ultimately
deliver thousands of much-needed
new homes across the borough.”
The properties will be available for
private sale, shared ownership and
rent, and range from family houses to
apartments with courtyard gardens
and balconies.
Of these, 10% will be accessible for
wheelchair users.
Stitch Architects has designed the
scheme. Countryside and Newlon will
now consult with the community and
further develop the proposals before
the outline planning application
is submitted.

7

BOLD News

Studios for artists

Borough among London’s most
affordable for housing
Barking and Dagenham is among
the 10 top-performing locations in
the capital in 2015 for housing price
growth, yet remains one of the most
affordable London boroughs.
Property market expert CBRE
Residential published its ‘Hot 100’
research, outlining details of last
year’s London residential market.
Barking and Dagenham is placed
third among London’s best
performing boroughs, with a price

growth of 12%. Only Newham (16%)
and Hillingdon (13%) have seen a
bigger rise.
Despite this growth, the borough
is still one of the 10 most affordable
areas to buy in, although it fell from
first to 10th place in the CBRE list.
London’s house prices grew by
seven per cent and, in contrast to
recent years, the outer boroughs
outperformed the central areas,
the research said.

CASH FOR CARE
A healthy ageing innovation centre
in Barking received £1.7 million in
funding a few days after it opened.
Care City, a research and education
site launched on 18 January 2016
in Maritime House on Linton Road,
is one of seven initiatives to receive
funding as an innovation test bed.
The investment was announced by
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens at
the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, at the end of January.
Jointly founded by North East
London NHS Foundation Trust and
the London Borough of Barking and
Dagenham, Care City aims to bring

8

together social care organisations
and the technology sector to explore
solutions to problems associated with
old age.
Anne Bristow, deputy chief executive
of the London Borough of Barking and
Dagenham, said: “Care City will be
the place where things will happen
in health and social care across our
local communities.”
Care City, which also operates
across Havering, Redbridge and
Waltham Forest, is due to move to its
permanent home on the site of the
former Abbey Road Sports Centre
in 2019.

Studios next to the River Roding
will soon be ready for artists and
designers in Barking.
Bow Arts Trust, which specialises in
providing arts and creative services,
is providing around 1,200sq m of
workspace in Ice House Court on the
River Roding. It aims to launch the
facilities in April 2016 and applications
are now open for the studios.
The site will supply studio space for
about 20 individual creative practices,
at what Bow Arts said will be an
affordable rate. The aim is to help new
and established artists to flourish.
The scheme is supported by the
Mayor of London’s High Street Fund
and is part of Barking and Dagenham
Council’s plans to become London’s
first Creative Industries Zone,
providing units for affordable rent
with shared facilities and workspace
for artists.
Councillor Darren Rodwell, leader
of Barking and Dagenham Council,
said: “The creative industries are
struggling to survive in the old east
end artists’ hotspots of Shoreditch,
Bethnal Green and Dalston thanks to
ridiculous sky-high rents.
“It’s why many are looking further
east past Bow and on to Barking. As
an ambitious council, we know how
valuable the creative industries are
socially, culturally and economically.
“It’s why we are bidding to make
Barking the capital’s first Creative
Industries Zone.”

Newlon Housing Trust â&#x20AC;&#x201C;
working in partnership with
the London Borough of
Barking & Dagenham

Newlon Housing Trust has an excellent track record for regenerating communities
and providing award-winning new affordable housing. We are proud to be working in
partnership with Countryside in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.

For more information please visit: www.newlon.org.uk

BOLD Art and culture

Duffy London is an
innovative, designled furniture-maker
based at Barkingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Creative Quarter.

Tip of the iceberg
With an ever-evolving cultural quarter and a bid to
become the capitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Creative Industries Zone,
Barking and Dagenham is clearly passionate about
the arts. And now a spectacular promenade production
of The Merchant of Venice is due to take place,
as Maria Shahid finds out
11

BOLD Art and culture

SET ON THE River Roding, the Ice
House Quarter epitomises just how
seriously Barking and Dagenham
views the arts. Home to heritage
buildings such as the Malthouse, the
Boathouse and the Granary, as well
as the Abbey Ruins, the increasingly
popular Creative Quarter is about to
benefit from the addition of another
innovative workspace for artists and
designers. Ice House Court fronts the
Boathouse, and has been let to the
Bow Arts Trust, which is hoping to
have it ready for occupation in midMarch 2016.

12

Bow Arts Trust is a registered
charity that aims to support
community renewal in east London by
delivering arts and creative services.
It won a tender to create 500sq m of
studio space for artists and designers
on the ground floor of Ice House
Court, which is owned by the council,
providing much-needed affordable
workspace for around 20 to 25
individual practices.
The scheme is supported by the
London mayor’s High Street Fund and
is part of the council’s drive to make
Barking and Dagenham the next big
cultural destination in the east.
Michael Cubey is the head of
creative workspaces at Bow Arts – the
charity’s other sites are in Newham
and Tower Hamlets. He explains how
it works: “Our business model is
to make sure that any surplus that
we have goes back to funding our
educational projects across more than
80 schools which we work with.”
Each site has its own unique
flavour, adds Cubey, with the aim of
creating spaces where people can
connect with each other.
Delvendahl Martin Architects
has been appointed to design the
internal studio layout and design
of Ice House Court. “Our aim is to
create an affordable, open and flexible
space, and to animate the building
by involving the local community,”
explains Cubey. “We want to create a
busy, striking look from the outside,
with regular displays in the floor to
ceiling windows by our artists.
“The priority is local Barking and
Dagenham artists and designers
looking for affordable workspace,
and we’re keen to hear from anyone
looking for space.”
The council submitted a bid,
unveiled in October 2015, to become
London’s first Creative Industries
Zone (CIZ) and was recently awarded
£250,000 from the mayor’s London
Regeneration Fund.
The bid seeks to build on Barking’s
existing offer for creative industries
by providing some striking additions
in the form of innovative, affordable

BOLD Art and culture

workspace and living accommodation,
enhanced facilities and improved
networks and support.
As part of its proposal, the council
is working with a number of partners
across various sites to make sure that
Barking’s full potential is unlocked
(see box on page 16).
Councillor Darren Rodwell, leader
of Barking and Dagenham Council,
commented at the time of the bid’s
launch in October: “The creative
industries are struggling to survive
in the old east end artist hotspots
of Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and
Dalston thanks to sky-high rents.
“It’s why many are looking further
east past Bow and on to Barking. As
an ambitious council we know how
valuable the creative industries are
socially, culturally and economically.
It’s why we are bidding to make
Barking the capital’s first Creative
Industries Zone.”
The CIZ is only one aspect of the
borough’s cultural ambitions. Funded
by Arts Council England and Barking
and Dagenham Council, Creative
Barking and Dagenham (CBD) is a
six-year project running until 2018 for
people living, working and socialising
in Barking and Dagenham.
Studio 3 Arts is the lead
organisation for the delivery of CBD,
along with a consortium consisting
of community youth support group
A New Direction, Barking and
Dagenham Council, Barking and
Dagenham CVS and Tahlia Coombs,
a local resident and heritage expert.
CBD will receive £735,000 from
Arts Council England over the next
three years through the latest round
of its Creative People and Places
Programme. This is in addition to the
£838,000 the project initially received.
The new funds will enable ambitious
plans for 2016 to 2019, including
a summer and winter festival
programme; artist residencies;
commissioning creative activity led by
local individuals and organisations; a
continuing professional development
programme, and the further
development of the already popular

Cultural Connectors network, a group
of about 120 local people with an
interest in arts and culture.
Liza Vallance is artistic director
at Studio 3 Arts. She says that a
celebration of what CBD has achieved
so far took place at the end of January
at the Broadway Theatre. This was
also used as an opportunity for
stakeholders and the public to give
their views on the business plan for
CBD for the next three years.
With art, film, food and
performances from some of the
artists the borough has been working
with, the event included the premiere
of Close and Remote’s new road movie
commissioned by CBD, We Are What
We Are, which is about the last
50 years of working lives in Barking
and Dagenham.
Vallance is passionate about arts
and culture in Barking and
Dagenham, and has been working
in the borough for 15 years. Studio
3 Arts is a creative venue for artists,
communities and individuals that
work in all art forms in collaboration
with local communities. Based
at a community-curated arts

Granary resident

Duffy London (above) is one of the
businesses at the Granary. The
furniture-maker has design and
eco-credentials and everything is
handmade to order by craftspeople
using sustainable wood and other
eco-friendly materials.
Duffy London’s innovative and
quirky designs spring from the
mind of Christopher Duffy, a design
graduate from Brighton University,
who also draws on his talented
designers and manufacturers.
Its designs have appeared in
interior design magazines such
as Harper’s Bazaar Interiors,
Wallpaper and Elle Decoration, as
well as on several TV programmes.
Left: BD Reside’s
scheme at Abbey
Road by Bouygues
Development forms
part of Barking’s
Creative Quarter,
which already houses
a number of artists
and designers.

13

BOLD Art and culture

Studio 3 Arts is
about reducing
barriers to
engagement
in the arts. A
theatre can be
a scary place if
you don’t know
the rules
centre in the Gascoigne estate area,
it comprises a gallery, performance
space, music studio, meeting room
and reference library, kitchen, bar and
‘living room’ foyer.
A pocket park has also been created
in the venue, transforming the existing
garden into a tranquil outdoor space
with sculptures by artist Jonny
Stockbridge and vegetables grown
by the pupils of the local Gascoigne
Primary School.
Vallance says that part of CBD’s
and Studio 3’s role is to challenge

14

perceptions about Barking and
Dagenham and to put the area on the
cultural map.
“We’re going to be putting on
a promenade production of The
Merchant of Venice this summer on
the streets of Barking,” she explains.
“It’s one of my favourite Shakespeare
plays and coincides with the 400-year
anniversary of his death.
“A lot of the themes from it have
played out in Barking and Dagenham.
We are at the tipping point of a lot of
economic regeneration here, but it’s

still a pretty tough borough to live in
for many. We’re also a very ethnically
diverse borough that came together to
oust the racist ideology of the BNP –
there are so many parallels with The
Merchant of Venice and the themes
that play out in it.”
The play will start at the Broadway
theatre, then travel through the town
centre, with the final scene taking
place at the council chambers. “Studio
3 Arts is really about reducing barriers
to engagement in the arts. A theatre
can be a scary place if you don’t know
the rules of the game. By performing
The Merchant of Venice in a public
space we are hoping to overcome
those fears,” adds Vallance.
The London mayor has pledged
£10,000 towards the project as part
of his High Street Fund, and Studio
3 Arts is raising the rest through
crowdfunding. Benson Elliot provided
the gap funding to ensure the project
can proceed as planned.
Residents with a Barking and
Dagenham postcode will get first
dibs on tickets, with 70% specially set
aside for them.
Following the success of the
summer of events organised in 2015
to coincide with the borough’s 50th
anniversary, attended by around
100,000 people, the council has
already announced a Summer of
Festivals programme for 2016.
In 2015, an event took place nearly
every weekend over the summer,
featuring the first ever Barking Folk
Festival, headlined by Barking local
Billy Bragg. The event attracted more
than 15,000 people over two days
in July.
And the Ice House Quarter itself
is, as always, playing a pivotal
role in Barking and Dagenham’s
cultural offer. Managed and owned
by construction company Rooff, the
venue offers affordable studio space
for those who are engaged in the
creative industries.
“We are entering a new phase of
post-construction work linked to
completion of the original masterplan,
with more studios being added to

BOLD Art and culture

Magnetic field

Hadrian Garrard is director
of Create London, an arts
organisation that works to explore
how artists can contribute to
communities. It has been involved
in a number of projects in Barking
and Dagenham, including a mural
at the Becontree estate by artist
Chad McCail (below right), and is
currently working on the renovation
of the White House, Edwin Hardy
Amies’ former home, on the same
estate. Hardy Amies is perhaps
best known as a former official
dressmaker for the Queen.
One of Create London’s other
commissions in the borough is
The Idol, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd’s
permanent indoor play area for the
Abbey Leisure Centre, bringing art
into the social space of a public
facility (pictured right).
Garrard explains what attracted
Create London to the borough:
“Barking and Dagenham has an
amazing history. It is well known
that artists are leaving London
because they just can’t afford to live
here any more.
“Artists really bring something
to a community, and there’s a
great opportunity for the borough
to attract that creative talent by
making it a place where they can
afford to live as well as work.”
He believes that what is needed
is a bold pilot scheme: “If we
can get that right, there’s an
opportunity to make a strong
statement about the borough being
a great place for artists to live.”

Far left: Studio 3
Arts is about to put
on a promenade
production of The
Merchant of Venice.

the overall offer at the Ice House
Quarter,” explains Steve Drury, Rooff’s
development director.
“The Bouygues and council-owned
residential element of the Creative
Quarter masterplan has now been
completed, and the contractor has
left the site so this now frees up more
studio space for creative use in the
Malthouse,” he continues.
“Occupation of the residential

15

BOLD Art and culture
Left: The Boathouse
forms part of the
Ice House Quarter,
and houses a cafe
bar, which is about
to go to tender for a
permanent operator.

units, along with the completed
new riverside walkway and open
space, mark the end of a long
journey, which Rooff began back in
2010 with the start of works on the
Granary restoration project,” explains
Drury. “Now that the majority of the
physical infrastructure has been
completed, we can really get to work
on developing the Ice House Quarter
as an established creative place for
people to use. The physical buildings
themselves form only one part of the
story and we are really excited that
more people can now visit and work
here or come for leisure and share in
the atmosphere.”
Also on Abbey Road, on the
waterfront, is a proposed Weston
Homes development of 118
apartments. The developer has been
working closely with the council with
the aim of creating an extension to the
Ice House Quarter.
It all bodes well for Barking’s
creative aspirations.

16

As part of the Barking Housing
Zone, the council is working with
Swan New Homes’ construction
arm, NU living, on a key gateway
site to deliver homes, as well
as a ground floor space, which
would provide a creative arts hub
including a permanent home for
the Bath House Barking.
The council is in discussions with
a number of arts organisations,
which would add to the town’s
creative industries offer.
Planning approval has been
secured and work is due to start
on-site this year.

Linton Road – workspace and
artist living accommodation
Behind Barking Enterprise Centre,
a council-owned vacant site will
be developed to provide affordable
living and workspace for budding
artists and creative designers.
Create London will work with
the council on ensuring that the
space meets artists’ requirements
and that they are attracted through
high-quality design. This project
has secured London Regeneration
Fund monies.

www.be-here.co.uk
Part of the Willmott Dixon Group

Everyone’s talking about
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be:here Barking coming in 2018

• We provide a range of additional facilities
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In short we’ve looked at every aspect of the
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be:here schemes also available in East India (letting now),
Hayes (Summer 2016) and Kew (2018).

A new
Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for Barking
The first phase of the exciting regeneration of the Abbey Retail
Park by Estates & Agency Properties Ltd for a new Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
has now received planning consent from the London Borough of
Barking and Dagenham.
The development will make a significant contribution to the on-going
regeneration of Barking, and will create up to 450 new full-time and
part-time jobs.
For further enquiries please contact Alun Hayes on
020 3725 3842 or email ahayes@iceniprojects.com

Estates & Agency Group has a strong track record of successful
involvement in Barking. Through continued investment, Estates
& Agency is making a significant contribution to the ongoing
regeneration of the Borough.
Sites Previously Developed by E&A

Current Property Holdings

A

Roding House
Cambridge Road

E

Maritime House
1 Linton Road

1

Abbey Retail Park
Abbey Road, Barking

B

Central House
Cambridge Road

F

50-74 Station Parade
Barking

2

Clock House
East Street, Barking

C

Focal House
12/18 Station Parade

G

Radial House
Ripple Road

D

Trocoll House
Wakering Road

Capital Trading Estate
Alfredâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Way
(not on map)

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THAMES

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BOLD Town centre

Streets ahead
With a raft of transformative schemes poised to unfold,
Barking town centre is set for substantial redevelopment.
Lucy Purdy unpicks the proposals

RECENT MONTHS HAVE seen a flurry
of activity in Barking and Dagenham
Council’s planning office, as a host
of major applications for Barking
town centre have been lodged. They
make for exciting reading, collectively
marking a wave of redevelopment and
change about which residents can be
as excited as the council is.
Proposals from the likes of be:here,
Benson Elliot, East Thames and Swan
Housing are not all: the borough
heard in January that the mayor of
London had pledged £250,000 from
the London Regeneration Fund – a pot
that the council has pledged to match

fund to the tune of £3.83 million.
The money will fund proposals for
a Creative Industries Zone, which
includes turning a vacant councilowned site behind the Barking
Enterprise Centre into affordable,
sustainable and flexible work and
living space for artists. It will also help
consolidate the borough’s growing
reputation as a hub for arts and
culture, one kickstarted by the Ice
House Quarter on the River Roding.
Announcing the funding, London
mayor and chair of the London
Enterprise Panel, Boris Johnson,
said: “High streets and town centres

Above: As one of the
capital’s housing
zones, Barking town
centre is about to
undergo a major
transformation.

21

BOLD Town centre

the length and breadth of London are
hives of economic activity fuelled by
creative minds. It’s important that we
make sure they continue to meet the
needs of a rapidly evolving city and
the talented people who are key to its
future success.”
Town centres such as Barking will
be key. Just 15 minutes from the City,
it is one of the council’s seven growth
hubs and also one of the capital’s first
housing zones. The 97-ha housing
zone is central to realising Barking’s
full potential, culturally as well as
economically. It will host more than

22

4,000 new homes and create 2,000
jobs, as well as improved public
spaces and new cultural and leisure
facilities. Council leader Darren
Rodwell said at the time: “A housing
zone for Barking will enable faster
delivery of new housing.”
Things certainly seem to be
speeding up in that respect. Swan
Housing received the green light
to build four interlinked residential
towers in Barking in January 2016, the
tallest of which will be 26 storeys high.
Set to start construction this year,
the scheme on Cambridge Road will

deliver 274 new homes, at least
49 of which will be available for shared
ownership. Priority will be given to the
borough’s residents. A large, flexible
commercial unit on the ground floor
will be used as a creative arts hub.
In addition, a play area has been
included in the plans.
“It is one of the key sites in the town
centre, adjacent to the station as you
arrive in Barking. Therefore, it will
be seen by everyone travelling to or
through Barking,” says Geoff Pearce,
executive director of regeneration and
development at Swan Housing.
The project has been designed
by architect Studio Egret West and
includes a curved building envelope
that will bring a new landmark to the
area around Barking station.
Lucas Lawrence, director at Studio
Egret West, promises “memorable
curved forms, panoramic views
generous balconies and a palette of
high-quality materials”.
“We are gearing up to a start on-site
this year with completion scheduled
by 2019,” Pearce says. “This is
an exceptional scheme and it
represents a real investment in
Barking by Swan.
“This is an important area for
us to invest in. Town centres such
as Barking have a great mix of
education, cultural, leisure and retail
opportunities and with this scheme we
are enhancing both the cultural and
residential offer for Barking.”
Councillor Cameron Geddes,
cabinet member for regeneration
at Barking and Dagenham
Council, describes it as one of the
“cornerstones” of the housing zone
scheme. “This will help boost the
supply of quality homes in the town
and will further add to the borough’s
housing mix,” he says.
Elsewhere, East Thames Group is
working with the council to renew
the eastern end of the Gascoigne
estate, taking on shared responsibility
for funding, design, construction
and maintenance of the scheme.
The Gascoigne East masterplan
includes 1,575 new properties, a

Left: The BD Reside
scheme at Abbey
Road, by Bouygues
Development,
incorporates a
landscaped play area.
Right: Swan Housing’s
scheme on Cambridge
Road starts on-site
in 2016.
Below right: East
Thames is working
with the council on
the eastern end of
the Gascoigne estate.

mix of affordable rent and privately
owned homes of different sizes and
types with a secondary and primary
school and other non-residential
development over the next nine years.
The aspiration is that the Gascoigne
will no longer be thought of as an
‘estate’ but rather as a landmark of
regeneration in Barking town centre.
Phase one will see the creation
of 421 homes, a public square and
shops. Designed by Levitt Bernstein
architects, this initial swathe will set
a precedent for architectural quality
for future phases of the 1,575 dwelling
masterplan, which was developed by
Allies and Morrison.
In August 2015, Bouygues UK was
appointed to deliver the next 190
homes. Work began late last year,
and the new homes are expected
to be ready in late 2017.
East Thames executive director
of development, sales and asset
management, Trevor Burns, says:
“This is a flagship regeneration
project that will transform Barking
town centre and we’re proud to be
delivering such a scheme hand

23

BOLD Town centre

in hand with the council. The first
phase of the masterplan has already
won a Housing Design Award which
is testimony to its innovative and
thoughtful design.”
Does Burns believe it is still
important to nurture town centres?
In the age of out-of-town shopping
centres and the growth of online
retail, are they still relevant? “Town
centres are vital economic and social
hubs and provide communities with
a sense of local identity,” he says.
“Barking and Dagenham is one of the
east London growth boroughs and the

24

ongoing investment from the council
into Barking town centre will ensure
that it continues to thrive and remains
relevant. East Thames will continue
to support them in this key strategic
aim through our own investment in
the area.”
The town centre’s regeneration
received a further boost after a deal
was agreed between the council and
property specialist Lindhill. The site
of the old Abbey Sports Centre is
set to be redeveloped to provide
154 private flats, around 2,230sq m of
office space for use by Care City – a

healthy ageing innovation centre
– a three-screen arthouse cinema
and three commercial units to house
new restaurants. “We are currently
working through the planning process
to submit an application in March
2016,” explains Lee Fitzpatrick,
director at Lindhill.
“We hope to achieve planning in
July or August this year with a view to
start on-site by the end of 2016. This
site offers the town centre residential
units with great access to local
amenities and great transport links.
The proposed ground floor uses of
cinema and restaurants will make this
a destination and, in turn, positively
impact and enhance the cultural
quarter of Barking town centre
as well.
“We are a residential developer and
saw this as a fantastic opportunity
in a great location. We see Barking
and Dagenham as a progressive
borough with strong leadership and
as a place that is up and coming.
With investment in the town and the
affordable property prices, more and
more people are looking to live here.”
As the town’s only covered shopping
offer, Vicarage Field shopping centre –
acquired by Benson Elliot in June
2015 – will also play a leading role.
It is located in the heart of Barking
town centre on a 2.1-ha site, held on a
long lease from the London Borough
of Barking and Dagenham, and home

BOLD Town centre

to the likes of Argos, Subway, Dorothy
Perkins, Burtons, Vodafone, Holland
& Barrett and Timpsons, as well
as longstanding local traders such
as Spectacle World, Hot Shots and
Vicarage Impressions.
Benson Elliot will look to reposition
the retail offer at Vicarage Field,
building on the firm’s strong inhouse retail expertise and leveraging
occupier relationships developed
through the ownership and
management of its UK retail portfolio.
The company is confident it can
deliver a retail offer which reflects
evolving shopping trends and meet the
community’s aspirations.
Retail elsewhere in Barking is
also being boosted. The council has
secured £291,000 from the Mayor
of London’s High Street Fund as
part of its £1.4 million high street
improvement programme for East
Street and Barking Market. The
programme includes delivering
new paving, street lighting and
infrastructure which will bring the
high street up to the standard of
spaces elsewhere in the town centre,

Left: The council
has secured funding
for a high street
improvement programme.
Below: Lindhill’s plans
for the old Abbey Sports
Centre include a cinema,
ﬂats and ofﬁce space.

The ongoing
investment from
the council
into Barking
town centre
will ensure
it continues
to thrive

such as Short Blue Place and Barking
Town Square.
“The market brings an energy and
activity to East Street,” says Alex
Jeremy, regeneration officer at the
council, “and so to the town centre
in general”. A revised back-to-back
stall layout is being designed to create
a neater appearance and improve
pedestrian flow to nearby high street
shops and spaces.
High Street Fund money has also
delivered The Barking Food Court,
a pop-up restaurant and cinema
based in the former magistrates
court on East Street, a Grade II-listed
building which is currently being
redeveloped for residential and
retail use.
Created by design practice The
Decorators and artist Verity-Jane
Keefe, The Barking Food Court was
furnished by students from the local
Technical Skills Academy, while local
restaurants and food vendors hosted
lunches and evenings alongside
themed films and evening activities.
Whichever way you look at it,
Barking town centre’s time has come.

25

EARLY TALENT PROGRAMMES

CHALLENGE
CHANGE
CREATE
26 metres below Oxford Street, we are working to
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Every day, we design, manufacture, engineer and
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work, using the very latest digital tools and techniques.
And we’re always looking to create structures that
will help build a better future for everyone.

London & UK Property
and Prosperity Capital Partners
are proud to sponsor the
London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham at MIPIM 2016
London and UK Property Limited is a lean, ďŹ&#x201A;exible and innovative
property development company that delivers outstanding returns to
investors, owners and joint venture partners by creating high quality
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Prosperity Capital Partners is a private equity real estate company
focusing on investment and development opportunities in London
and across the UK and Ireland employing private investor capital.
Together we are working to deliver high quality innovative
developments that match the vision and aspiration of the
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

PROJECTS
Estate renewal, Becontree Heath
Developers Countryside and Newlon Housing Trust have
been selected by Barking and Dagenham Council for the
regeneration of Becontree Heath, which involves building
141 homes for a mix of private and shared ownership plus
affordable rental homes.
Stitch Architects has designed a blueprint which, among
other objectives, aims to tackle problems of poor legibility
and a car dominated public realm.
With positive new interventions in recent years – the
leisure centre in particular, with the busiest swimming
pool in the country – a catalyst has been provided for the
transformation of the space into a traditional “piece of
town”, characterised by streets designed for all users, and
framed by the active frontages of attractive new buildings
accommodating high-quality new homes.
The homes will create a link across six parcels of land
that run between the leisure centre and civic centre and
connect to the 40-hectare Central Park.
The plans also include new pedestrian links, landscaping,
additional play areas and parking provision.
The next phase of the project will see Countryside and
Newlon, together with the council, undertake community
consultation sessions to further develop the proposals
before the outline planning application is submitted.
Cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Cameron
Geddes, said: “The selection of Countryside and Newlon
Housing Trust as our preferred bidder for the Becontree
Heath scheme is an important step towards the
regeneration of the estate and the council’s commitment
to ultimately deliver thousands of much needed new
homes across the borough.”

indhill’s
L
Barking site
Barking and Dagenham’s town centre
regeneration project will benefit
greatly from developer Lindhill’s plans
for a three-screen art house cinema,
new restaurants, office space for
Care City (a healthy ageing innovation
centre set up by North East London
NHS Foundation Trust and the council)
and 147 private flats to be created on
the old Abbey Sports Centre site.
The deal for the site was agreed
last year between the council and
property specialist Lindhill. A planning
application for the £50 million scheme
is expected to be submitted in early
spring with hopes that construction
will start in late summer 2016.
Councillor Darren Rodwell, leader
of Barking and Dagenham Council,
said: “The scheme will complement
other developments in the town
square – the Broadway Theatre
and the Creative Industries Zone. It
represents a significant investment
and will contribute towards our
longer-term aspirations for a vibrant
evening economy in the town centre.”
Gary Fitzpatrick of Lindhill
added: “We are confident that this
development will enhance and
complement the growing requirement
for the borough’s aspirations.”

29

BOLD Projects

Beam Park
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
announced that Countryside with
London and Quadrant Housing Trust
(L&Q) will develop 3,000 new homes
on the Beam Park site.
The former Ford factory plant
was the last site to be released as
part of the mayor’s pledge to ensure
all unused City Hall-owned land is
available for development by the end
of his mayoral term in 2016.
Following a planning application in
2016, a site start is targeted for early
2017, which would see the first homes
delivered in summer 2018.
The 29-hectare riverside plot
will feature a new neighbourhood
with a train station on the C2C line,
community facilities and 3,000 mixed
tenure homes, 35% of which are
aimed at being affordable.

30

The new train station will open by
2020 and will transport residents to
central London (Fenchurch Street)
in just 20 minutes. The station is
fully funded.
It will be built in partnership
between Network Rail, Transport for
London and C2C Rail, and has been
awarded £9 million from Transport for
London’s Growth Fund.
The development will also include
improved routes for pedestrians and
cyclists. Plans for two energy centres
have also been mooted.
Richard Cherry from Countryside,
said: “We look forward to working with
the GLA and the London Boroughs of
Barking and Dagenham and Havering
to transform Beam Park into a wellconnected, sustainable place in which
people can live, work and socialise.”

BOLD Projects

londoneast-uk
A year after SOG launched business
and technical park londoneast-uk,
it now boasts a diverse range of
businesses operating from the site
enjoying state-of-the-art facilities.
The seven-hectare plot offers
laboratories, scientific manufacturing
buildings, offices, conferencing
facilities, storage and warehousing.
The first tenant was facilities
management specialist Arcus
Solutions, which opened a technical
training academy just a few weeks
after SOG had acquired the site.
In the following months, a number
of small businesses took up residence
alongside Barking and Dagenham
Chamber of Commerce – the visitors
centre office block was full by March.
In November 2015, a new
programme for construction
industry training was established
in collaboration with Barking and
Dagenham College.
Additionally, film and television
production companies have used
londoneast-uk and Barking and
Dagenham Council’s film department
has relocated there.
SOG is now looking to create a
‘post-incubation centre’, offering
support services to startups and
emerging companies. It is also
considering the possibility of creating
a dedicated film studio at the site.

Ford Stamping Plant
This vast site was home to Ford until
it closed in 2013. Now the London
Borough of Barking and Dagenham
is keen to work with the new owners
on planning its regeneration as a
new neighbourhood offering up to
2,500 homes.
The site lies adjacent to Beam Park,
where there are regeneration plans
for 3,000 homes, community facilities
and a train station.

Gascoigne Estate
This area of Barking is set for an ambitious transformation
as the estate is brought up to date. The development
will include more than 1,500 new homes, a primary and
secondary school, community centre, retail and office
space, green spaces and play areas.
Planning permission has now been granted for
East Thames and the London Borough of Barking and
Dagenham’s £41.5 million proposals for the site. The first
phase of the project will provide 421 new homes, a medical
centre, energy centre and public spaces. Bouygues UK
will deliver the first 190 homes and the energy centre.
Construction work started in spring 2015.
The plans, devised by architects Levitt Bernstein and
Allies & Morrison, will improve the neighbourhood by
offering new facilities and open spaces as well as muchneeded affordable housing. The homes will be a mix of
rental, shared ownership and for sale.
The project is due for completion in 2024 and will create
hundreds of jobs. The first phase of the scheme won a
‘project award’ at the Housing Design Awards.

Ice House Quarter
More improvements are on the
horizon at this riverside site for
creative industries. The cluster of
companies based here is set to
expand when the fit out of the ground
floor of the front block, by Bow Arts,
is completed in April. This new space
will deliver additional creative studios
for the Ice House Quarter.
The final phase of the residential
element of the creative quarter
masterplan has been completed. The
scheme by Bouygues Development
for Barking and Dagenham Council
delivered a total of 278 apartments.
The landscaped public space is now
complete and open to the public,
improving waterside views and
offering leisure space in the quarter.
Users of the Malthouse will benefit
from upgraded security facilities to
give customers peace of mind and the
Boathouse Cafe Bar will be tendering
for a permanent operator, given the
dramatic increase in the number of
neighbouring residential units, and
therefore customers.

33

BOLD Projects

Barking Riverside

Barking Wharf
The southern section of the Abbey Retail Park has been
earmarked for new homes. The proposed housing element,
designed by Broadway Malyan, will provide 650 private
rental properties, which will be delivered by housing
specialist be:here.
A planning application for the scheme was submitted in
autumn 2015. It is hoped work will start on-site by the end
of this year and the first homes will be available for rent
in 2017.
Planning consent has been granted for a Sainsburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
supermarket to be constructed on the northern section of
Abbey Retail Park.
New pedestrian routes will also be implemented to link
Abbey Green to the River Roding.

34

Upon completion, this scheme, one
of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest regeneration
programmes, will deliver a staggering
10,800 homes, 65,500sq m of
commercial, retail and leisure space,
five new schools, health centres,
places of worship, community
facilities, public open spaces and
green infrastructure.
London and Quadrant is one of the
partners in the scheme, delivering
housing for the project. The scheme
comprises 52 one and two-bedroom
waterside apartments for intermediate
market rent, a subsidised rental
scheme typically offering up to a 20%
reduction on market rent to enable
first-time buyers to save for an
affordable home.
The new homes, designed by
RMA Architects and constructed by
Bellway, all have a balcony or terrace
and a parking space. The development
is set in two kilometres of natural
landscaped grounds alongside the
River Thames.
A public exhibition was held in
December 2015 to inform residents
about further upcoming developments
for the project (see page 50).

BOLD Projects

Find out why Barking and
Dagenham is Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Growth Opportunity at

David Harley
Group Manager Economic Development
and Sustainable Communities
David.harley@lbbd.gov.uk
020 8227 5316

boldmagazine.co.uk

www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk

Growth focus
Barking and Dagenham has established a Growth
Commission, which sets out long-term goals for development
and ways in which to engage with the boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business
community. BOLD brings together senior developers and
council representatives to discuss the boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future.
Edited by Maria Shahid and James Wood

36

BACK ROW (left to right)
Fiona Duncan (FD), head of area,
housing, land and property at the GLA:
“We have delegated housing zones to
areas such as Barking town centre.”
Jeremy Grint (JG), divisional
director of regeneration, Barking and
Dagenham Council: “I’m responsible
for planning, physical regeneration
and economic development.”
Toby Fox (TF) [chair], managing
director at 3Fox International: “We
produce BOLD Magazine with Barking
and Dagenham Council.”
Peter Vaughan (PV), director of
architect Broadway Malyan: “My
involvement is the former Abbey Mills
Retail Park site in Barking.”
Olivier Soulier (OS), London director
for Bouygues Development: “Most
recently, we have worked on the Ice

House Quarter and the London Road
mixed-use scheme.”
Peter Cornforth (PC), director
of retail, Benson Elliot: “We’re a
medium-sized private equity real
estate fund and recently purchased
Vicarage Field shopping centre.”
Steve Drury (SD), director for Rooff:
“We are a local building contractor
and developer in the SME/mediumsized market and developers of the
Ice House Quarter in the Creative
Industries Zone.”
Hadrian Garrard (HG), director of
Create London: “We commission
artists to deliver projects that actively
involve communities.”
Michael Hill (MH), business strategies
director, Countryside: “We have
worked in east London since 1958 and
recently finished Castlegreen Place.”

FRONT ROW (left to right)
Trevor Burns (TB), director of
development, sales and asset
management for East Thames: “We
have about 1,000 properties in the
borough which we own and manage.
Our major project is Gascoigne East.”
Chris Naylor (CN), chief executive,
Barking and Dagenham Council: “It
is my job at the council to ensure that
we can deliver [council leader] Darren
Rodwell’s huge ambitions for the
borough on the ground.”
John East (JE), strategic director
of growth and homes, Barking and
Dagenham Council: “I’m newly arrived
from Newham. I decided to move here
because of the fantastic opportunities
that Barking and Dagenham provides.
My task is also to make sure that
Darren [Rodwell]’s vision is delivered.”

37

BOLD Growth Commission

TF: We see London growing before our
eyes. Every day the city gets busier
and more active. What role, from the
GLA’s perspective, Fiona, can Barking
and Dagenham play in supporting
the staggering growth that we’re
predicting for London?
FD: Barking is still a very affordable
place in London terms and it does
really feel like its time has come.
We’re getting real developer interest
in the town centre and the GLA is
very keen to see housing numbers
increase in places that are affordable
to Londoners, so they remain here.
We see the borough as very
accessible. You can get on a train at
Fenchurch Street and be in Barking
town centre in 15 minutes. Improving
the town centre and diversifying its
offer will be good for the people who
live here now and in the future.

There is
nowhere
that has the
same scale of
opportunity as
Barking and
Dagenham

yes, you could develop in the borough,
but you did so with relatively modest
prices – and, more importantly, you
did so with a relatively modest product
and building typology.
What has changed in the last few
years is how the demand for housing
for sale, and now for private rent,
has grown so rapidly in value. You’re
now seeing the sort of high-density
apartment schemes that 15 years ago
there was no prospect of seeing.
When you look across London as
a whole, there is nowhere that’s got
the scale of opportunity as there is in
Barking and Dagenham.
That’s partly because the rail
infrastructure is now so good in terms
of frequency and quality – and, with
all the other investments coming into
the borough, it all seems very positive
to us.

TF: How does that play into the
developer’s story, Michael?

PV: But, Michael, will there be a time
when that PRS model might come
under threat?

MH: We’ve always been interested
in development in Barking and
Dagenham. Fifteen, 20 years ago,

MH: It depends what you mean by
threat. The challenge we’ve had in
London and the south-east is making

38

BOLD Growth Commission

it viable. Having a PRS component in
our schemes accelerates the speed at
which we can develop, it helps return
on capital, it does a number of good
commercial things.
The problem we’ve had over the last
few years is we can’t get it to match
what we can make out of housing for
sale. There are two reasons for that:
one is the capital values fall short
and, second, PRS investors require us
to lock in a build price at the outset
– we’ve then still got the risk of build
cost inflation.
OS: We’re very much of the view that
PRS is a safe strategy – yes, it might
be sometimes less profitable than
a product for sale strategy. However,
in the long term, it is a very

established and be bolder and more
strategic while being prepared to
step back in other areas”. In terms of
physical growth and regeneration it
has the following to say:

Opportunity knocks
The council’s chief executive, Chris
Naylor, explains how and why the
Growth Commission was set up
Barking and Dagenham is London’s
new growth opportunity.
The challenge for us is to quicken
the pace, be open for business and
help, not hinder, those who want
to invest in our future. It is about
ensuring that, as economic growth
rolls in, we enable social renewal
too: secure employment, raise
incomes and create a population that
enables people to live independent
and more sustainable lives.
To help us respond to these
challenges, we appointed former
treasury economist and architect
of the Manchester devolution
deal, Mike Emmerich, to lead an
independent Growth Commission.
Having assembled a world-leading
group of commissioners and having
considered evidence from a range
of stakeholders, Mike’s report was
published in February 2016.
It’s a big read with 109
recommendations for the council to
consider – but its message is clear:
the borough is at a key moment
and it has the ambition and the
political will to become an inclusive,
prosperous and resilient place, in
which all communities have the
opportunity to fulfil their potential.
It advises that the council
“needs to continue the lead it has

•C
ommit to building 35,000
homes over the coming
20 years with a more diverse
mix of tenures: more and better
affordable, sub-market stock;
a well-regulated private rented
sector; and a substantially
increased stock of owneroccupied housing.
•A
im to create a new city district
in the town centre of Barking
with the variety and interest of
London’s best centres.
•O
pen up the River Roding as
an attractive, accessible and
active riverfront.
•F
or other parts of the borough,
develop specific visions that
enable residents to shape their
future and clarify opportunities
for developers and investors.
•D
evelop a destination attraction
for London aimed at national and
international visitors.
•A
ttract at least two anchor
institutions, such as a university.
The council welcomes these
recommendations and, in the coming
months, will publish its detailed
response. Chief among our actions
will be to commit to an arm’s-length
regeneration vehicle capable of
supercharging the council’s capacity
to respond to the investment market.
We won’t lose sight of the social
aspects of the commission’s
findings. Our response will also
set out a whole system approach
to ensure our residents can benefit
from the borough’s physical
renaissance. It will be a new way
of working that demands a unity
of purpose across the whole
organisation, with every part of
the council and the community
supporting and actively delivering
on the new agenda.

39

BOLD Growth Commission

JE: It’s not as if we’re going to put in a
whole quality offer where there wasn’t
one before. Quality will continue to
be high on our agenda, and we’re all
signed up to that and realise that in
the long term it adds value.
SD: While we are very much in support
of the quality agenda; scale is also
quite important to consider. We bring
a unique perspective – the scale of
our developments is most likely to
be between 20 and 30 units, so that’s
something we’re quite interested in
exploring with the council.

sustainable investment. From a local
community point of view, it’s also
very welcome.

It all adds up
to improving
the quality
of economic
and physical
development
across the
borough

40

TB: Our strategy really is to develop
outright sale housing for people who
are perhaps on average incomes, in
order to continue providing properties
for people who are in the lower
quartile of earners.
The physical side of things is really
important, whether you are developing
high-end for sale, for rental or for
shared ownership in our case.
But it’s also about what other
services you can bring alongside that.
It’s about the social and economic
regeneration as well as the physical
transformation.
PC: The great thing about Barking
is that missing the boat completely
in the 2000s actually creates the
platform now for us to make that great
leap forward.
It means that we can move quite
close towards Darren [Rodwell], John
[East] and Jeremy [Grint]’s vision.

FD: Well, the GLA has a number of
different funding streams too, where it
can help to deliver different things. It
all adds up to improving the quality of
economic and physical development
across the borough.
With our Barking Riverside project,
we are looking at what we need to do
to actually start creating the place.
We are going to deliver 10,000 homes
and a new railway line to open them
up but, in the short term, are there
meanwhile uses that we can have?
At the moment, it’s called Barking
Riverside, but you can’t actually get to
the river.
TF: A lot of work has gone into
stimulating the arts, music festivals
and various other initiatives. Is that
something the GLA can support
or sustain?
FD: At Barking Riverside, we are
looking to create a new square for
some sort of cultural use. In the
short term, we’re looking to bring in a
theatre company.
HG: One of the big problems for young
artists in London and the reason why
they are leaving in large numbers is
that they can’t afford to live in central
areas of the city.
A thing we’ve talked about a lot is
that Hackney and Tower Hamlets were
and still are Europe’s largest cultural
quarters – 13,000 artists are living and
working in those two boroughs.

BOLD Growth Commission

But, if you live there, the cultural
participation is lowest in those two
boroughs and that says a lot about the
disconnect in the city.
I think there could be a flagship
model here, with the borough making
a very deliberate statement about
wanting artists to stay in the city and
in doing so, giving this place a really
strong identity.
TF: Jeremy, you have been the
mastermind behind this type of
regeneration for years.
JG: Yes, the GLA has given us a bit of
money towards providing very specific
artists’ work and living spaces. There
is also an organisation called The
Collective, which provides housing in
a slightly different way, which will be
able to play into the artists’ agenda.
TF: Steve, you’ve done a lot in terms
of providing spaces.
SD: Yes, but not really for living. It is
still early days in terms of the cultural
quarter but it is finding its feet now
because of regeneration happening
around that area. A lot more could
be made of the river – it’s just within
Barking and Dagenham’s reach.

TF: Do artists’ live and work spaces
excite developers or architects?
MH: Well, we’re looking for a really
mixed community – folks living,
working and crafting stuff; it’s going
to be part of the town centre scene.
We think people will want to come
and buy or rent a place to live here
because of that.
TF: Can you stimulate that in largescale developments?
OS: This is very much about
sustainable regeneration. I think
sustainable communities are places
where people can stay and work
instead of commuting to central
London every day.
The office market in central London
is very buoyant, and unaffordable for a
lot of small companies.
We are working on developments
that provide cushion space for small
startups, not on long leases, but for
renting an office space for one or two
people for six months.

HG: I think that has to be tied up by
it being an affordable place to live,
because it’s unrealistic to expect
creative businesses to reverse
commute to Barking.
CN: Yes, but we have a real
opportunity right now in Barking. It is
for artistic people, but, for those who
want to create any kind of business,
there are so many other places on
the river.
MH: It would be brilliant to have the
artists living here but, at the end of
the day, you’re talking about providing
a relatively finite amount of affordable
housing. I’m just trying to reconcile
people on the waiting list who want
affordable housing with an artist who
turns up and gets that affordable
housing because of their occupation.
HG: I would never suggest that
someone who’s an artist should have
priority. I think it’s a case of bringing
in investment from other parties that
are interested in this issue.

41

BOLD Growth Commission

There are other bodies. There is the
Arts Council, there is the GLA. There
are people who are patrons who are
interested in this crisis of artists
leaving the city. What I would suggest
is one or two flagship projects that
incorporate artists.
CN: I totally agree, but I also think
these things aren’t mutually exclusive.
The scale of opportunity here is that
we can do it all. Those 5,500 people
we’ve got sitting on social housing
waiting lists; the answer to them is
not to build more council housing.
The answer to them is how they could
earn some more money so they could
afford one of your PRS properties
or one of our sub-market rent PRS
properties, or if they’re able to build
social and economic capital in some
other way.

42

Barking isn’t
just one
amorphous
mass, it’s got
a number of
distinct areas

That is what drives what the council
does. My home town is Rotherham –
they are having to halve their budget
like we are. But they’re not 20 minutes
away from central London, or 15
minutes away from Stratford. These
are huge opportunities.
JE: One of the things coming out
of the growth commission is that
Barking isn’t just one amorphous
mass, it’s got a number of distinct
areas. What we really have to do, if
we’re going to create a successful
borough, is to recognise that.
TF: But how fantastic to see Barking
and Dagenham in a position where
it’s got some tools and some leverage
it can use to address some of these
problems and that the solutions are
now nearer at hand than they were.

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Top town: the
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FACTS AND FIGURES
90% of families in the
borough get their first
choice of school.
The London
average is 81%

The council has
received £250,000 from
the mayor’s London
Regeneration Fund
towards its Creative
Industries Zone

The borough is ranked
seventh out of 380
districts for business
and enterprise
(Source: district place profile report
by Grant Thornton)

44

£1.4 million

of investment will go
into East Street and
Barking Market

Creative Barking
and Dagenham is
receiving £735,000
from Arts Council
England, in addition
to £838,000
already received

BOLD Markets

The borough hosted more than
70 events to celebrate its 50th
anniversary in 2015

Barking
and
Dagenham

Seven growth hubs
in the borough
will deliver

35,000 HOMES
10,000 JOBS

Number of
homes expected
to be built in
Barking town
centre:

4,000

has
moved
up
15 places
Barking and
Dagenham is the
cheapest borough
in London to buy a
home in, according
to a 2015 Land
Registry report

in the
Good
Food for
London
table

with

2,000

jobs created

45

BOLD Education

Primary
objectives

Rapid population growth and the arrival
of many families with young children
puts pressure on all schools, particularly
primaries. Jessica Pickard discovers
how teachers and education ofďŹ cers are
addressing the need to create more school
places while raising educational standards
46

BOLD Education

Above: Manor Infant
School has grown to
accommodate almost
triple the number of
students over a fouryear period.

BARKING AND DAGENHAM is a young
borough. There are more babies per
head here than in any other part of
London. The years 2001 to 2011 saw
an astonishing 50% rise in children
under the age of four. Council
projections show that the upward
trend will continue to the extent that
23 extra classes will be needed in the
next five years for reception age alone.
In the UK, local authorities have a
responsibility to ensure all children
can find a school place and many are
struggling to meet this requirement.
In Barking and Dagenham, eight
out of every 10 primary schools
have expanded their pupil intake in
recent years. The council’s success
in providing extra school places
now means that 90% of parents get
a place in their first choice school,
significantly higher than the London
average of 81%.
The challenge is to manage
growth on this scale, while driving
up standards to achieve the council’s
headline ambition that every child in
Barking and Dagenham will attend a
school that is assessed by Ofsted as
good or outstanding.
“In Barking and Dagenham, it
is about schools and the council
working together determinedly and
persistently to support teaching and
learning. This includes making sure
new buildings provide well-designed,
spacious classrooms,” says Jane
Hargreaves, divisional director for
education, youth and childcare.
There are significant indications that
standards are rising. In the primary
age group, national test results for
seven and 11 year-olds have improved
to achieve or exceed the national
average for most indicators. Ofsted
has confirmed that overall progress
has outpaced the national rate of
improvement, but the borough still
expects to see this trend accelerate to
get to the overall London averages for
achievement.
How is this improvement being
achieved against a backdrop of rapid
demographic change and growth?
“If anyone tells you it has been

easy, they are lying,” says Thelma
McGorrighan, headteacher of Manor
Infant and Manor Longbridge, a school
that gained an outstanding grade
for leadership.
McGorrighan has steered changes
that saw an infant school of 464 pupils
grow to accommodate 1,300 pupils
over the last four years. This involved
opening a new building on a second
site, 10 minutes from the original and
very different in character.
Located in a new housing estate,
Manor Longbridge was initially
attended by children who had recently
arrived in the borough or the UK.
Several parents had no previous
connections with the school or area.
The head and her staff set about
creating the kind of support structures
that help schools thrive, drawing upon
her experience of what has made
Manor Infant so successful over many
years. One advantage of a rapidly
growing school is that it attracts
applicants who can see career
pathways ahead.
The expanding Manor schools
appointed new teachers with
meticulous care – “one English
grammar error in the job application
and it went on to the ‘no’ pile,” says
McGorrighan – and all applicants
had to be observed teaching a class.
Teaching assistants needed to
pass exams in English and maths
before helping in the classroom and
teachers’ lesson plans now appear
on the school’s website every Friday
evening so parents can know what the
children will be learning, right down to
new spellings they will be expected to
master in the coming week.
The same energy has gone into
extracurricular activities. Local
‘role model’ adults like author
Kimberley Chambers have been
brought in to inspire the children and
‘chatterbox’ classes set up for adults
to learn English. The school is part
of a borough-wide healthy eating
campaign and has set itself targets
for children to learn to swim. Manor
School is now ranked as one of the
borough’s fastest-improving schools.

47

“We have created a successful
school with passion and belief,” says
McGorrighan.
Recent Ofsted reports have singled
out the work of senior education
officers and elected council members
for their “ambitious vision and clear
leadership”.
One successful strategy has
been the council’s support for the
development of strong local clusters
of schools. These allow heads and
schools to share best practice and
provide professional development
opportunities for teachers.
“The clusters really help and
they bring down training costs,”
says McGorrighan, citing recent
joint leadership training for middle
managers. The borough is fortunate
to have a primary national leader
of education and teaching school –
Warren Junior School – led by Gary
Wilder OBE, who was recognised for
his services to primary education
in the New Year Honours list. The
teaching school co-ordinates training,
supports recruitment and shares
its own successful practices across
the borough and more widely. This
is not just about the academic
curriculum. Barking and Dagenham
schools formed one of the first
cultural educational partnerships in

48

In Barking and
Dagenham, it
is about the
schools and the
council working
together
determinedly
the country. This is bringing many
opportunities for children to work with
some of the best local and national
arts and cultural organisations.
“It’s a borough where the term
‘partnership’ is genuinely evident,”
says the council’s divisional director
of education, youth and childcare,
Jane Hargreaves.
“Parents coming to Barking and
Dagenham need to know that they
are coming to a place where schools
and the council genuinely work
together and are ambitious for their
children to ﬂourish through a rich and
aspirational education.”

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BOLD Housing

House and home
Housing is high on the agenda in Barking and Dagenham, and the council
is working hard with developers and investors to create a mix of tenures
to attract diverse communities. James Wood reports

RECENT FIGURES RELEASED by the
Land Registry suggest that now is
the perfect time to develop housing
for private sale and rent in Barking
and Dagenham, and for homebuyers
looking to relocate there.
While house prices are rising faster
than most boroughs in London, in
October 2015 the Land Registry
revealed that Barking and Dagenham
remains the only borough in the
capital where people can purchase a
home for below ÂŁ300,000.

50

Barking also hosts what is
considered by the Greater London
Authority (GLA) to be one of the
biggest opportunities for housing
development in London, at Barking
Riverside. The ambitions for the
site are long held and there is the
potential for a colossal 10,800 homes,
65,500sq m of commercial, retail and
leisure space, ďŹ ve new schools, health
centres, places of worship, community
facilities, new public open spaces and
green infrastructure to come forward.

Above: Barking
Riverside presents one
of the most signiďŹ cant
opportunities for
development in London.
Right: Countryside and
Newlon Housing Trust
have been chosen to
develop 141 homes at
Becontree Heath.

BOLD Housing

We need to try
and move away
from the historic
view that social
rented property
and home
ownership
are the only
good models
Fiona Duncan, head of area at
the GLA, says: “We are looking at
what things we need to do to start
placemaking. The question is about
how to open up the scheme and we
need to look at meanwhile use. At the
moment, it’s called Barking Riverside
but you can’t get to the river.”
But that is all set to change. A
revised masterplan for the site is
expected soon, with the housing set
to link up the new station, which will
be built as plans progress to extend
the London Overground from Barking
into Barking Riverside. Improving
connectivity and amenities at the site
for both existing and future residents
is key to the project.
Other mixed tenure housing
schemes, at various stages of
development, can be found throughout
the borough. In the coming years, the
Barking town centre housing zone
will deliver 2,295 homes, built on
around 100 hectares of land and the
council’s aim is that 795 of these will
be affordable.
The local authority believes that
offering a mix of tenures will create a
diverse and prosperous place.
Barking and Dagenham’s new chief

executive, Chris Naylor, explains:
“We need to try and move away from
the historic view that social rented
property and home ownership are the
only good models.
“For some of our less well-off
residents, it is partly about income,
but partly about how people can
accumulate capital in their home. The
trick is to look at whether there are
other innovative vehicles, perhaps
where people can part rent, part own;
scale up, scale down. We are really
interested in that and would be very
up for conversations about how that
could evolve and develop.”
Some concerns have been raised
over the sheer number of private rent
homes being developed and how this
has the potential to result in stalling
the process of offering the mix of
tenures that the council hopes to
attract a varied demographic with.
Planning applications for homes to
be put on the market for private rent
are abundant in Barking town centre,
with proposals for more than 1,000
units coming forward.
Nevertheless, developers and
investors are keen to contribute
to the mix and are now showing a

51

BOLD Housing
New homes being built
by Bouygues UK at
the Gascoigne estate
(right) and Abbey Road
(below) make the area
a desirable location for
potential new residents.

willingness to develop for private sale.
Countryside has been delivering
housing in east London since the
1950s. The company has a long
association with the borough, and
worked on a pilot phase of the
Gascoigne estate in Barking at the
turn of the century.
More recently, Countryside and
Newlon Housing Trust have been
selected to build 141 homes at
Becontree Heath, creating a link
between the leisure centre and
the civic centre, and connecting to
a 40-hectare central park, which
includes paths for pedestrians and
play areas. The developer has further
housing schemes in the pipeline.
Countryside and London and Quadrant
were selected by the GLA in January
2016 to redevelop Beam Park on the
site of a former, now derelict Ford
factory plant in Dagenham. Creating
35% affordable housing is the aim.
Michael Hill, new business director
at Countryside, believes that despite
the prevalence of private rented
homes, the market for private sale
homes is improving: “What has
changed markedly in the last few

52

years is how the demand for housing
for sale has grown so rapidly in terms
of value and rate of demand,” he says.
Artists drawn by affordable studio
space at schemes such as the
Ice House Quarter are also taking
advantage of genuinely affordable
housing on the River Roding’s
houseboats, where a new community
of like-minded residents has been
ﬁrmly established.

Bouygues UK is adding another
element to this area’s appeal by
regenerating the eastern end of the
Gascoigne estate – building the ﬁrst
190 homes there, as well as a primary
and secondary school.
Provision for housebuilding is
moving fast. As major development
schemes continue to evolve, new
investors and residents feel the time
is right for Barking and Dagenham.

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Barking town centre
With development projects being accelerated by Barking’s
housing zone allocation, Sitematch research manager
Huub Nieuwstadt finds that investors are increasingly looking
to this historic east London borough as a place of growth
OPPORTUNITIES for development in
Barking town centre have become all
the more tangible.
The area was announced as part of
one of London mayor Boris Johnson’s
first housing zones in 2015. These are
places in the capital identified by the
Greater London Authority where extra
funding and other support is made
available to accelerate the process
of building homes. Barking has been
allocated £42.3 million towards the
regeneration of the area.
In the coming years, 2,295 homes
will be built on just over 100 hectares
of land and the council’s aim is that
795 of these will be affordable. In
addition, 2,000 jobs and community
facilities will be created, as well as
improvements made to public spaces.
The town centre is well connected:
Barking station has underground,
Overground and National Rail
connections to central London. There
are plans in place for improvements to
the overall look and accessibility of the
station, as well as the addition of new
bus routes to improve connectivity.
Historical connotations add to
Barking’s appeal. The town contains
the ruins of Barking Abbey – founded
in AD666 and once one of the most
important nunneries in the country.
The abbey was eventually dissolved by
Henry VIII in 1539.
Fishing was once Barking’s main
industry. It was home to the Short
Blue Fishing Fleet – at one point,
England’s largest – founded in 1797.

54

Due to pollution of the Thames,
the fishing industry shrunk and had
disappeared completely by 1900. In
the 20th century, heavy industry took
over. In the 21st century, however, the
council is focusing on stimulating and
growing the creative industries in the
area through the launch of London’s
first Creative Industries Zone.
By regenerating Barking town
centre, the council is progressing
with its aim of attracting more
investors, residents and visitors,
while improving existing facilities and
amenities in the area.
For more information, contact David
Harley at david.harley@lbbd.gov.uk
For further details about the
Sitematch London event, visit
sitematchlondon.com

Below: Arboretum
Place in the town
square is a colourful
example of the type of
housing available.

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The
Local Partner
Swan is committed to supporting
Barking and Dagenham to deliver its
vision for regeneration.
Swan Group have over 20 years of experience of delivering homes
and regeneration in East London and South Essex and a reputation for
delivering innovative, sustainable homes and exemplary communities.
To discuss partnership opportunities that can make a difference, contact
Graham Kauders, Senior New Business Manager, on 01277844231 or
GKauders@swan.org.uk.